What Does Peace
Mean to You?

Your Voice Matters. Your Vision Counts. Your Time is Now.

Calling all creative minds under 30, ready to change the world.

What's this all about?

What does peace mean to you? This is YOUR chance to show the world. We’re bringing together young voices from every corner of the planet to share visions for the future we actually want to live in.

Through your art, music, videos, poetry, words, or performance – YOU can spark real change. 

This isn’t just another contest. This is your moment to be heard, be seen, and help build the momentum for peace, health, and justice that our generations demand.

Who's this for?

You. If you’re under 30 and breathing, you’re in.

Doesn’t matter where you’re from, what you’ve done, or what language you speak. Solo artist? Great. Got a crew? Bring them. Never made art before? Perfect timing to start. All you need is something to say about peace and a creative way to say it.

Why should you care?

  • Get your voice on global stages – we’re talking real impact
  • Score a spot at COP31 (Nov 2025, Antalya, Turkey)
  • Join a worldwide youth movement that’s actually doing something
  • Get mentored by people who’ve been there, done that
  • Feature in our digital gallery and global social campaigns
  • Unlock new income opportunities through Social Art Editions

The Winners Have Been Chosen

Thank you, thank you, thank you. To every creative young person who dared to share their piece, who put their voice, their vision, and their heart into this call, who trusted us with their work: this moment is because of you. We received incredible work from every corner of the planet, in every shape and form you can imagine:

Total submissions

49

Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania

Categories

5

Music (18), Visual Artwork (12), Open Format (8), Poetry (7), and Short Film (3)

Individual

40

Associations

5

After a rigorous process of deliberation with our diverse jury members, who evaluated each piece against criteria such as relevance (30%), social impact (25%), artistic quality (20%), narrative (15%), and innovation (10%), the top 11 pieces were selected for this year’s Youth Social Art Award.

Youth Social Art Award Gallery

With such a tight margin between the 10th and 11th spots, we couldn’t leave a single one out of the Youth Social Art Award

  • A Search for The Architecture Of Peace

  • Doodle Mandala

  • Green Disability

  • Peace begins within 🕊️

  • I dream...

  • Peace Forward: A Peace of Art for Syria

  • Peace Is the Work of Attention

  • Prayer for forgiveness

  • Pen a piece for peace and planet

  • Voices Unbroken: Healing Through Art, Play & Music in Quetta

  • Young artists in rural Honduras paint for peace

Now it's time to celebrate

We invite you to the Award Ceremony, on August 12, 2026, during International Youth Day, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM CEST. Let’s celebrate a movement of young people building peace, health, and justice through art.

The Jury

The Youth Social Art Award brings together an interdisciplinary jury of leaders from the fields of art, peacebuilding, youth engagement, social innovation, media, and global systems change. Together, they reviewed submissions from around the world and selected the works that most powerfully demonstrate the potential of art to foster dialogue, imagination, healing, and positive social transformation.

Alexandra Wandel

Alexandra Wandel is Executive Director, ALL FOR ONE– All People for One Earth. Previously, she was Executive Director at the World Future Council, led the World Future Policy Awards in partnership with 12 UN organisations, and worked with NGOs at the UN, WTO, and EU levels. She obtained an MA in International Relations with Honours from the University of Amsterdam and studied political science, public law, and publicity at the Free University of Berlin.

I joined the Alliance for Youth-led Futures because I believe that young people are catalysts for change and essential changemakers today. Through my work as Executive Director of ALL FOR ONE – All People for One Earth, I have witnessed how music and art empower young people to become ambassadors for peace, inclusion and regenerative development. By becoming part of the Alliance for Youth-led Futures, I aim to help amplify youth voices, foster meaningful partnerships, and support initiatives that enable the next generation to actively shape a more peaceful, just, and generative world.

Anjali Krishna Subhash

Anjali Krishna Subhash works at the intersection of technology, social art, sustainability, and communication. With a background spanning IT, creative practice, and social impact, she is particularly interested in how storytelling can bridge disciplines, connect communities, and inspire positive change. Alongside her work with the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), she explores journalism and media as tools for amplifying diverse voices and fostering dialogue around the challenges and opportunities shaping our future.

I believe that meaningful change happens when people from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences come together around a shared purpose. AYLF creates a space where creativity, dialogue, and collaboration can inspire collective action and help build a more connected, inclusive, and hopeful future.

Anne-Marie Melster

Anne-Marie Melster is an art historian, political scientist, philologist, and interdisciplinary curator. As a pioneering curator for climate and ocean action, she creates bridges between art, science, and informal education to foster awareness, dialogue, and engagement around pressing environmental challenges. She has extensive international experience supporting artists in developing their practice, expanding their visibility, and navigating diverse cultural contexts, while championing the role of creativity in driving positive societal change

I was inspired by AYLF’s multidisciplinary and international approach to supporting young people as they navigate the complex challenges of our time. By connecting creativity, knowledge, and collaboration across sectors, AYLF creates opportunities for young people to develop their voices, strengthen their agency, and contribute to more sustainable, just, and peaceful futures.

Joerg Altekruse

Joerg Altekruse is a documentary filmmaker, storyteller, and communication expert dedicated to using media for social impact. His award-winning documentaries have inspired initiatives ranging from the protection of Lake Baikal as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to international support for Chornobyl victims and climate action. He co-produced the feature film Windland and the internationally broadcast TV series Tipping Points of Climate, reaching audiences in over 100 countries. As the founder of Youth4Planet, he empowers young people worldwide to share their visions for a good life within planetary boundaries through storytelling, dialogue, and intercultural collaboration.

I co-founded AYLF because I believe in art and filmmaking, the co-creation of strong images as a major human resource for exploring the possible. As a regular participant at UN Climate Conferences, I try to combine campaigning, filmmaking, art, and teaching into orchestrated “Earthbeat Challenges” as a multistakeholder effort to create visible action towards the Global Goals and beyond.

Mathis ROLLAND

Applied Foreign Languages student with experience as an intern at IFAI, working on communication, international projects, and digital content. Interested in intercultural exchange, youth-led initiatives, sustainability, art, and social impact.

Nadine Pelkmann

Nadine is Advisor to the Executive Board of Bertelsmann Stiftung, supporting CEO Dr. Brigitte Mohn. With a background in political science and public policy, she has worked extensively on sustainable transformation, state modernisation, and political communication, with a particular focus on the German Sustainability Strategy. Nadine studied philosophy and economics and is actively involved in several civic initiatives at the intersection of politics, youth engagement, and societal development. Her work is driven by the belief that collaborative leadership and active citizenship are essential for creating more sustainable and equitable futures.

I joined AYLF to help create stronger pathways for young people to contribute to societal change. By connecting diverse perspectives and fostering collaboration, AYLF enables youth voices to have a greater impact and helps turn shared aspirations into action for the common good.

Nicole Loeser

Nicole Loeser is an innovation and impact strategist, social art producer, author, ecosystem builder, and co-founder of the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI) and The Futuring Alliance (TFA). As a senior lecturer, facilitator, and international speaker, she works across Europe, Asia, and the Americas at the intersection of art, futures literacy, systems innovation, and sustainability. Through her work, she supports the next generation of changemakers and leaders in shaping regenerative, just, and resilient futures while advancing socio-ecological transformation through cross-sector collaboration, creativity, and collective action. She has initiated more than 350 interdisciplinary projects and collaborations and has been recognized with the Savvy Award 2025 and the German Award for Sustainability Projects 2024.

I joined AYLF because I believe that many of today’s challenges (from climate change and inequality to social polarization and conflict) cannot be solved by simply onboarding young people into systems that are no longer serving people or planet. Instead, we need spaces where different generations, cultures, and disciplines can come together to imagine and create new pathways forward.

AYLF resonates deeply with my work because it empowers young people as co-creators of more just, regenerative, and peaceful futures. Through creativity, dialogue, and collective action, AYLF creates opportunities to question existing assumptions, explore alternative possibilities, and build alliances that turn imagination into meaningful change.

Verónica Rodríguez Cárdenas

Verónica is a communications strategist, visual artist, and systems storyteller dedicated to advancing social and environmental justice. Working across grassroots movements, international organizations, and cultural initiatives, she uses narrative, creativity, and collaboration to mobilize communities and inspire collective action. Veronika leads communications at Catalyst Now, co-chairs the Working Group on Climate at the Global Coalition for Youth, Peace and Security, where she helps amplify youth voices and foster cross-sector collaboration for more peaceful, equitable, and regenerative futures.

I joined the Alliance for Youth-led Futures because I believe in the power of art to awaken the invisible threads that connect us and its power to co-create just, equitable, and peaceful societies. And I am convinced that this alliance not only understands this but is creating spaces where young people play an active role in shaping the decisions that determine our future, not only as human societies but for everything that comprises this beautiful and wonderful planet.

Who's behind this?

We’re the Alliance for Youth-Led Futures, and we’ve got your back with partners who actually get it:

  • Catalyst Now – a global umbrella movement of more than 7000 social innovators around the world.
  • Audiotool – 250,000 young music creators strong
  • Youth4Planet – storytelling changemakers
  • AIME – reimagining education
  • IFAI Berlin – art meets innovation
  • Rewired Earth – sustainable entrepreneurship
  • WHO Youth Council – health advocacy powerhouse

…and more joining the movement